Payal Kapadia - The Japan Times

LIFE / Lifestyle

Apr 4, 2006

"Regarding the Sink," "Magyk: Septimus Heap Book One"

"Regarding the Sink," Kate Klise, Harcourt; 2005; 127pp.

LIFE / Lifestyle

Mar 7, 2006

"How the Hangman Lost His Heart," "Fish"

"How the Hangman Lost His Heart," K.M. GRANT, Puffin; 2006; 192 pp.

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Feb 7, 2006

"Firebird," "Thor's Wedding Day"

"Firebird," Susan Gates, Puffin; 2005; 212pp.

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Dec 6, 2005

"The Fish in Room 11," "In my World"

"The Fish in Room 11," Heather Dyer, Chicken House; 2005;160 pp.

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Nov 1, 2005

"Chasing Vermeer," "How Hedley Hopkins Did a Dare"

"Chasing Vermeer," Blue Ballietta, Chicken House; 2005; 272 pp.

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Oct 4, 2005

"Barkbelly," "The Sign of the Black Dagger"

"Barkbelly," Cat Weatherill, Puffin; 2005; 352 pp.

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Sep 1, 2005

"Cross Your Heart, Connie Pickles," "Hunter's Heart"

"Cross Your Heart, Connie Pickles," Sabine Durrant, Puffin Books; 2005; 247 pp.

CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF

Jul 17, 2005

There's nothing quite like a good Indian argument

THE ARGUMENTATIVE INDIAN: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity, by Amartya Sen. Penguin, 2005, 356 pp., £25 (cloth). "We do like to speak," admits Amartya Sen, citing a well-known fact about Indians in the opening paragraph of "The Argumentative Indian." But what the Nobel Prize-winning economist goes on to demonstrate in this compilation of some of his best writings -- and this is less known today -- is that letting others speak is equally integral to the Indian temperament.

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Jul 14, 2005

"The Opal Deception," "Solomon Snow and the Stolen Jewel"

"The Opal Deception," Eoin Colfer, Puffin Books; 2005; 344 pp. There's only one person on the planet who can have had more fun than I did reading "The Opal Deception" -- the guy who wrote it.

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Jun 30, 2005

"Silverfin," "Baby Touch Playbook"

"Silverfin," Charlie Higson, Puffin Books; 2005; 372 pp. For James Bond's legions of males fans (this possibly includes your father), Charlie Higson's "SilverFin" is news of the best kind. Not for this reviewer, though, who belongs to the female half of the planet and whose grouse is that there are already way too many films and books about this world-class spy (and world-class cad). So a children's book about Bond as a boy could only be approached with grave misgivings -- and admittedly just a little curiosity about what Bond was like as a boy. Come to think of it, was he ever a boy?

CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF

May 8, 2005

Window dressing the great divide

THE SARI SHOP, by Rupa Bajwa, W.W. Norton Company, 2005, 224 pp., $13.95 (paper). Indian-ness has ceased to be the flavor of the season, or at least that's what they've been saying in Indian publishing circles. One only wishes this were true. The "Indian experience" is the proverbial dead horse, flogged one time too many; it's about time that Indian writers got over the rather suspect urge to package their country like an ethnic curiosity for the easy consumption of an international reader. It's not very likely, though, judging from this year's Commonwealth Writers' Prize winner for Best First Book from the Eurasia region. Getting the Commonwealth nod puts Rupa Bajwa's debut novel, "The Sari Shop," in the same league as, say, Vikram Chandra's "Red Earth and Pouring Rain" (which went on to win the overall prize in this category in 1996). Indian-ness was much in vogue when Chandra made his literary debut as a magical realist, so his choice of protagonist -- an Indian poet reincarnated as a monkey, tapping away on a typewriter and telling pseudo-mythological stories -- might be forgiven, however reluctantly.

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Apr 28, 2005

"The Mermaid's Manual," "Frozen Billy"

"The Mermaid's Manual," Dawn Applerley, Bloomsbury; 2004; 14 pp. "The Mermaid's Manual" should be a dream come true for many little girls out there. Its vibrant, glittery jacket has a neat press-button on it, which makes this picture-book look like a handy kit for wannabe mermaids.

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Apr 7, 2005

"Skinny B, Skaz and Me," "Ice Drift"

"Skinny B, Skaz and Me," John Singleton, Puffin Books; 2005; 274 pp.

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Mar 10, 2005

"The Whispering Road," "The Pig in the Spigot"

"The Whispering Road," Livi Michael, Puffin Books; 2005; 336 pp. If you haven't read Charles Dickens yet, what could be a better introduction than Livi Michael's "The Whispering Road"? Michael's first novel for older children imbibes Dickens' influences, dramatic storytelling and colorful characterization without imitating him blindly.

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Feb 3, 2005

"Pirates!" "Mammalabilia"

"Pirates!" Celia Rees, Bloomsbury; 2004; 296 pp. Celia Rees's "Pirates!" is a gripping read from page one: It gains on you like Blackbeard's fearsome pirate ships, takes you hostage, and holds you without mercy till the last page. Her story of two young women taking to a life at sea as pirates is so engaging, it carries you forward as effortlessly as the slickest Hollywood flick, and lasts for a delicious while longer.

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Jan 13, 2005

"The Time Wreccas," "Winnie's Magic Wand"

"The Time Wreccas," Val Tyler, Puffin Books; 2005; 338 pp. Children's fiction these days is so all-knowing, so cynical, even, that possibly only a first-time writer can bring back to it the naivete that it has all but lost. Perhaps Val Tyler, author of "The Time Wreccas" has not noticed how popular the wickedness of Artemis Fowl is, or the glibness of Hermione Grange (from the Harry Potter series), or maybe she has opted not to take a cue from them. If avoiding the vogue for cynicism is a conscious decision, it's pretty brave of her.

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Dec 9, 2004

"Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell," "ABC T-Rex"

"Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell," Susanna Clarke, Bloomsbury; 2004; 782 pp.

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Nov 4, 2004

"How I Live Now," "News photo"

"How I Live Now," Meg Rosoff, Puffin Books; 2004; 186 pp. When a good writer writes, even if it is their first book, you can "hear" their voice.

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Oct 7, 2004

"The End of the Beginning," "Change Your Room"

"The End of the Beginning," Avi Harcourt, Dorling Kindersley; 2004; 140 pp. "Hmmmm," said the ant. "You'll need a lot of questions answered."

LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL

Sep 23, 2004

"The World Came To My Place Today," "Faerie Wars"

"The World Came To My Place Today," Jo Readman and Ley Honor Roberts, Random House; 2004; 24 pp.

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